Static electricity is frequently produced during the manufacturing process of thin-film transistor array substrates. It has been found that most electrostatic breakdown occurs at a signal line-staggered region in a surrounding area of an array substrate where jumpers, or a conductive layer having a functionality of jumpers, are located.
The jumpers or the conductive layer as mentioned above are usually made of transparent conductive layers, and are typically laid on the entire array substrate to electrically connect electrode lines and signal lines. In an illustrating example as shown in FIG. 1, a conductive layer 1′ is configured to electrically connect common electrode lines 10 and common signal lines 20 to thereby allow signals to be transmitted from the signal lines to the electrode lines.
If an electrostatic breakdown occurs at a site where test lines, short-circuit rings, or repair lines are located, the short-circuiting sites can by repaired via a process comprising laser cutting and a subsequent repair. However, if the electrostatic breakdown happens at a signal line-staggered region, upon laser cutting, the conductive layer 1′ is easily welded with the signal lines. Because the entire surface of the conductive layer 1′ is laid on the whole array substrate, the short-circuiting sites cannot be completely disconnected to allow a subsequent repair.